Through These Lupine Eyes of Mine, 2k3 style Season 1
by The Lupine Sojourner
Summary: Join Asami, Lupa, and the other Hamatos through the first season of the 2k3 series. Asami'll learn more about her forgotten past, face her father's oldest enemy, make new friends and enemies, and get into all kinds of odd situations with her unusual family. Capril and Asami/OC as main couple. For my AWESOME friend, HardyGal. Hardy hasn't seen the 2003 TMNT. Yet. ;) Check her out!
1. s01s01 Things Change

**THIS IS THE START OF THE OFFICIAL ASAMI INSERTION STORY INTO THE 2003 VERSION OF THE TURTLES. I KNOW I DON'T GIVE MUCH BACKGROUND INFO, BUT THAT WILL BE REVEALED LATER. FOR NOW, HOWEVER, PLEASE ENJOY!**

**~THE LUPINE SOJOURNER**

The little girl sniffed. She was only five years old. And she was a freak. How was she to know that her foster father was a scientist that had such cute animals in his workplace? And why, oh, why, did she have to linger by that cart with the puppy, getting smudged between the cart and that wall, causing that weird green ooze to spill all over her?!

Doesn't matter now...she couldn't go back. Her new father would never want her now. She was...different. She was some kinda wolf-girl. She was on the verge of panic. She had nowhere to go now. She was alone. And she was scared.

And that was _before_ she heard the van careening down the road. That van was the reason she was cowering in the sewers in her panic, clinging to the puppy that she had refused to let go of since she had run. She hadn't gone as far as she had hoped from her daddy's work. She flinched as a canister containing the cutest little turtles fell and she barely caught it. Then...the same ooze that fell over her, transforming her, fell on top of the canister as the young girl screamed and dove off the platform, landing in the water. In her blind dash, however, she had dropped the turtles, the canister and the puppy.

When she came up the turtles, as well as the puppy, were now sitting in a puddle of ooze. She felt hope drain out of her. They would be as hideous as her. She would have to-

She jumped as a rat crawled over her feet. She watched, intrigued and weirded out, as the rat attempted to get the turtles into a can. She ended up carefully picking the turtles up, and placing them in the can. She carried the can, following the little rat toward what looked like a burrow of sorts. She had then simply curled up on the floor in front of it, sobbing herself to sleep at the drastic turn of events it would turn out she wouldn't remember. Her young mind simply couldn't process what had happened to her. She found a family, and grew up with them, training in the art of a Kunoichi, the female ninja. And she was happy in that knowledge. She didn't need to know all the gritty details. She was perfectly content with her new family.

=#=#= (15 years later) =#=#=

Training has gone from fun to boring since my father, Master Splinter, made me start simply watching him train the others. They were getting close to my level, and I hadn't sparred with Sensei in a few days. I wanted so badly to test my skill again, but Sensei had said there were other lessons for me to learn. I knew he was teaching me to teach my siblings, but I felt I already knew what Sensei did like the back of my hand. After all, it's not like Sensei's methods for my siblings were that different than what he did for me else, right? "Remember, to be a true ninja, you must become one with the shadows. Darkness gives the ninjas power, while light reveals the ninja's presence." Sensei explains, holding a lit candle out for my siblings to try and extinguish, by the looks of it. "Now...can you extinguish this flame, without revealing yourselves?" Father asked, flipping the candle from it's position on the tip of his walking stick, to in his hand without letting it go out.

_Called it. _I smirked, leaning against the wall, out of the way. I was already done with my own training for the day. Some advanced katas and strength-building exercises.

Donatello tried first, by simply leaping over the candle. Or that's what I assume he was trying to do. Sensei simply leaned out of the way. Poor Don slid a few feet, and collided with the wall with a grunt.

"Too noisy, Donatello." Sensei admonished, gazing at his second youngest son with fondness. I chuckled. Next was Michelangelo and Lupa, rushing him at the same time. Again, I smirk. Always competing, those two. They did the same thing Donnie had tried, but this time, Sensei stood, and tripped his youngest son and daughter with his legs as they ran past. They collided with Don, letting out a round of grunts and complaints. Sensei returned the candle to it's position right in front of him.

"Too clumsy, Michelangelo. Lupa, as well." Raphael was next, simply rushing his master and father, jumping over him, and landing with a few small hops. Sensei stood instantly, looking around cautiously, trying to pinpoint his son's location. Raph tried again, but this time Sensei was ready for him. He stuck out his foot, and within seconds, Raph was tangled in the growing pile of masks, weapons, and limbs in front of the far wall.

"Poor choice, Raphael." Sensei said sternly. I looked up, and saw Leonardo, already in position above our father. I smiled. He was good. Leo dropped down, katana out and slicing before he hit the ground. He flipped, and caught the half of the candle he had sliced off on the flat of his blade, and blew it out quickly, encasing the small room in darkness. Sensei flicked the light on with his stick, and Leo couldn't contain the smirk on his face.

"Well done, Leonardo." Father praised.

"Teacher's pet." Raph growled. Leo still held the half of the candle, which he then threw at Raph, who caught it without looking at it.

"Ninja drop-out." Leo countered. Raph growled and squeezed the candle. I rolled my eyes. These two were at it again. This was a regular occurrence with them, and it was stupid.

"Oooohh!" The younger three of my siblings chuckled as they gathered right behind the almost battling pair. Sensei was quick to put an end to it, however. He thrust his stick between the two, earning their attention.

"My sons." he sighed, clutching his forehead in exasperation. "My children, if you are to to become true ninja, you must work harder." That clued us in that this was another lecture, so we assumed kneeling positions in front of our father, me and Lupa at either end of the line. "Your path in life will not be an easy one. The outside world will not be a friendly place for you." Then I noticed Lupa and Mikey looking at a fly flying around them, not paying full attention to what Sensei was saying. I caught Lupa's attention, and sent her a glare, shaking my head slightly. Lups stilled, and focused her eyes on Sensei immediately. Mikey, however, kept looking at that insect. "You six are different in ways that the surface world would never understand." Sensei continued, unheeding as of yet the distant student near the end of the line. Thankfully, Mikey at least tried to pay attention, having been nudged by Lupa. But the fly flew into his line of sight again, causing him to get distracted. Again. "To survive, you must master these skills I teach you. Ninjitzu powers of stealth and secrecy. You must become Kage. Shadow warriors. And you must never be discovered by the outside world. " He concluded, as Mikey finally caught the fly, clapping it between his hands. That did it. Sensei looked gravely at his youngest son, who quailed visibly at being caught under Sensei's direct gaze. Before Sensei could even open his mouth to reprimand his wayward student, the ground shook so violently, chunks of ceiling and wall came loose. We all looked around in confusion.

"What is that noise?" Sensei asked above the rumbling of the stones around us.

"W-whoa! Earthquake!" Mikey cried, and Lupa agreed. Donnie, however, looked thoughtful.

"In New York?" He asked no one in particular. "Possible, but not likely."

"Details, details, Don. _Look out_!" I cried, grabbing his shell, and pulling him out of the way of a collapsing piece of either wall or ceiling.

"Sorry, Ami." He mumbled, looking sheepish, as these tiny, armless, cyclops T-rex looking robots came crashing through the wall. We all gasped, and drew our weapons en masse.

"What are those things?" Leo asked.

"New york city cockroaches?" Mikey replied.

"Heard they've been a problem lately." Lupa added wryly.

"Focus, you two." I growl, ready to attack.

"Whatever they are, they picked the wrong party to crash!" Raph growled, running forward and slicing the first few ones to come within range. The fight commenced. I slashed, sliced, and bashed the bots left and right. That's when I noticed the direction that they were trying to head. Toward, Sensei...as if that was the only thing they saw. The shell? Confused, I just kept destroying these things as fast as I could. I ran over to Master Splinter, who was still battling these metal menaces, destroying any I came across. Leo turned, and saw me and Sensei back to back, combating the frankly overwhelming number of robots. The rest of them finally caught on, and came to our aid, but even that wasn't enough. They had failed to notice the couple of bots chewing out the support beams. In fact, we all had. Before anyone could stop them, the ceiling collapsed, nearly killing me, burying me beneath the ruble. One chunk hit my head, and I was out like a light.

=#=#=#=#=

I woke slowly, head pounding fit to burst and unable to move. Then, the harsh sound of stone grinding stone reached my ears, and I was pulled quickly out into the small compartment formed by the rubble surrounding us.

"Are you alright Asami?" Sensei asked, hands still supporting me. I coughed the dust out of my lungs before responding.

"Yeah. How about you?" He only has time to nod in response before his shell-cell starts ringing. He pulled it out. I offered to answer it, but Sensei help up a paw, stopping me. Shrugging, I leaned back against the chunks of concrete behind me. Sensei, not being the most technologically advanced person on the planet, pressed a few buttons, asking himself which button you have to press to answer the phone. I could hear Leo trying to tell Master Sensei that he had already answered it on the other line. I just sat there, highly amused and suddenly not willing to ruin this moment. This was just getting good.

=#=#=#=#=

On the other side of the barrier, Leo was trying to dig through the pile of ruble currently separating him from his father and older sister. He was highly concerned for his family, still trapped under the rubble, and in an unknown condition. They might be hurt, or...Leo shook her head. No time for those kind of thoughts.

"Guys, Master Splinter and Asami. We have to help them." Leo reminded his brothers, except Don and Lupa, who were already helping him. Raph and Mikey came over, as Leo tried calling out to his missing family members. No response, as expected. Then, he had an idea.

"Donatello, any way to-" he trailed off as he heard ringing. "What are you doing?" He asked. Don looked slightly confused.

"Shell-cell. I'm calling Master Splinter, I hope."

=#=#=#=#=

"Hello?" Sensei called into the Shell-Cell, either not hearing, or ignoring the sound of Leo's response of '_Master Splinter? Are you and Asami alright?_'

"Yep. Though Sensei seems to have forgotten how to work his Phone-Cell." I call loudly.

"_Oh. Uh, could you-ugh. Never mind._" Leo's voice came back as he realized that Sensei wasn't going to ask for help, or take any that was offered. He sighed, as father kept up his attempts to 'answer' his phone. Finally, Leo tried to explain how the Shell-Cell worked to our hilariously un-tecnologically educated father.

"_Master Splinter, you don't have to push any buttons. You already answered it._" Thank heaven above Sensei got the message.

"Ah. Leonardo, whatever those mechanical menaces are, they have managed to eat through the support structure of our home. We must leave right away." I heard shuffling, and assumed that everyone was gathering around, trying to listen in. I started glancing around, attempting to find a way out.

=#=#=#=#=

It was decidedly not a good idea to try to cram five mutants all in about a three foot radius. Especially if two of them have ADD, among other problems, like hyperactivity. Raph had had enough of Lupa and Mikey's constant shuffling around, and pushed Mikey away, who crashed into Lupa, sending both mutants back several feet. However, that didn't seem to even faze the two mutant turtles still utterly focused on the phone Leo was holding.

"_Meet us at the old drainage junction on South Point._" The rat continued. Don pulled a map from within his magic duffel bag and blew it off.

"If we take the south conduit, it'll intersect with the old drainage tunnel." He said to no one in particular. Mikey and Lupa gathered back around the phone just as Leo hung up with 'We'll meet you guys over there, Sensei.' Relief flooded the blue-banded turtle. His family was safe. He just had to get to them.

"What'd he say? What'd he say?" Mikey and Lupa chirped in perfect unison. "Did he mention me?" Mikey asked.

"Or me?" Lupa added. Raph responded by pushing his younger siblings back once again.

=#=#=#=#=

"Hey, Sensei, I found a way out!" I said from the far end of the hole in the ruble. I had found a small tunnel-like break in the concrete blocks. We crawled through and stood, dusting ourselves off. The way to the South Junction was relatively clear. We did have to take a few detours, but we soon found ourselves in the proper junction. With the boys nowhere in sight. Figures. We both sighed at the same time.

"Figures. I'll go find them." I said, and took off after Sensei's nod of agreement. I ran out into the south junction tunnel, where my siblings _should _have been. But instead of six mutants walking along toward me, I was greeted with a collapsed tunnel, and a sense of foreboding.

_Please tell me they didn't go up top! Please, please, please, let them have found another way around somehow, but not up-top! _

I thought as I sniffed around on the other side of the rubble, and found a scent on the other end. It led directly over to the ladder. I sighed, even as I hauled myself up onto the ladder, and started climbing. I found myself on a street, with my brothers standing across the way.

"Imagine they're surprise when they open that truck!" Mikey was saying as I sprinted over.

"Wait...who's surprise when they open what truck?" I asked, arms crossed and eyebrows raised. Everyone flinched.

"Uh.." Leo stuttered. "When d-did y-you get here, sis?"

"Just now. Now answer my question." I retorted.

"Oh, Raph hid inside the truck that these thugs were using, right before they took off." Lupa chuckled.

"Oh, okay..." I said automatically. Then, it hit me, "He did _what_?!"

"Doesn't matter now." Leo said. "This is exactly what Master Splinter was talking about. We've got to get him out of there." Leo ordered. We moved toward the roof.

"Last one to the roof hatched from a rotten egg!" Don cried as he vaulted up.

"Hey!" Me and Lupa called back indignantly.

"Sorry, sisses!" Don replied, as I joined him. We all ran over to the edge of the roof in time to see a van I had seen pulling away as I came up the ladder, roaring down the street.

"We can cut them off at Third and First!" Leo noticed. I ran a quick check in my head, estimating times and leaps already in my head. And came to the following conclusion:

"If we run like _crazy_!" Me and Don replied together. It would take some serious huffing and puffing, but we should be able to make it.

"Is there any other way to run?" Mikey and Lupa chirped, again in synch. Leo just looked at them.

"You guys have _got_ to stop that!" He cried, even as he turned shell and started running after the truck. Lups and Mikey made it more of a competition somehow, and gained a little ground on us. Me, Leo, and Don flipped extravagantly over a roof, landing in front of the two cocky young mutants. After a few more roof jumps, and giggles at Lupa and Mikey's attempts at catching back up, we found the pair flat on their butts, Lupa with a bra over her head, and Mikey with a sheet draped over him.

"Springtime fresh!" They cried, sniffing the clothing.

"Come on!" I cried, as I ran. The pair caught up to us. We continued running, and running, and running. After what seemed like hours of running around, we stopped as the truck pulled into the parking lot to an abandoned warehouse. We stood on the rooftop surrounding a sort of courtyard, panting. We watched as only one of the four or so thugs was left to guard the truck. Lupa kicked a can to get the guy's attention while Mikey ran and grabbed a piece of paper. He tapped the overweight thug on the shoulder.

"Hey!" He said, earning the man's complete attention. "This is a no-parking zone." Mikey continued, "Here's your ticket," He held up that small piece of paper. "and here's your fine!" Mikey finished, and high kicked the man's head into the van. We dropped down, as Leo congratulated the pair.

"It's a ninja thing." Mikey replied, with a grinning Lupa leaning on his shoulder. I smiled at the pair. Like to peas in a pod, you rarely found one without the other. It was adorable.

"Now, let's get Raph out of there." Leo ordered, and we all turned to face the truck. I stood there, arms crossed, glaring at the stupid turtle trapped inside the van. I looked down, and expected to find a traditional pad-lock keeping the doors closed. I was disappointed with a larger, more high-tech lock.

"_Man_..." Mikey groaned, "Whatever happened to good, old-fashioned padlocks?!"

"Yeah..." Lupa muttered, glaring at the lock like she wanted to melt it.

"They went out of fashion." I stated, as Don drew two screwdrivers out of his bag, and twirled them around, mimicking Raph with his sai effectively.

"Where's the fun in that?" Don asked rhetorically. "This baby's all mine!" Don said smugly, stepping over to the lock, and kneeling down. I turned toward the doorway the thugs had gone through, and kept a lookout as Don worked on the lock, trying to drown out Raph's muffled cries and grunts as he tried to bust his way out. Honestly, it was a miracle that no one had noticed him...

"What's that Raphael?" Mikey taunted. "I can't hear you." He added in a sing-song voice.

"I can't either, bro. You gotta use your outside voice!" Lupa giggled. Raph growled extra loud, and gave the door an extra hard hit. Mikey took a step back.

"Okay. We heard _that_." Mikey said.

"Not what I meant by 'outside voice', Raph, but it works! Wonder what made ya think to smash the door again?" Lupa added, again leaning on her brother's shoulder.

"Dunno. But I think he thought it would work!" Mikey replied, and the pair fell about giggling. I sighed, and rolled my eyes before returning to my look-out.

"I'm trying to work here." Don said, effectively crushing the humorous atmosphere.

"Oh, come on, Don. You've worked in worse conditions before." I chuckled. Then, all was silent in the courtyard as Don finally finished pick-locking the doors. The lock clicked a few times before opening slowly.

"Hey, Raph!" Mikey cried, Lupa right beside him, their arms out wide, as if to receive a hug from the angry red turtle. "Glad to have you back, bro!" Raph responded with a grunt as he tackled his two annoying siblings, and wrestled with them on the ground. Well, Raph was mainly wrestling Mikey, with a worried Lupa attempting to rescue her helpless brother. So far, it wasn't working.

"What a hot-head." Leo noted, then flinched as the sounds of pain increased.

_Hey, waittaminute...where's that fat thug Mikey knocked out? He should still be laying right...uh-oh!_

I thought, gazing around, and seeing the three or more thugs, coming out from the warehouse, the fat one last, still rubbing his head ruefully. I backed up, and bumped into Leo, who then gazed over my shoulder.

"Uh, Raph?" Don called, as Mikey and Lupa continued crying out as Raph kept up his assault.

"We don't have time for this!" Leo cried, drawing his katana as I drew my tomahawks. We backed up as the thugs advanced. Raph was now holding Mikey against the pillar, and was drawing his fist back threateningly. Lupa was grabbing the fist, as Raph turned, and glared at Leo.

"And why not?" He asked.

"Because we're not alone." Mikey replied, noticing the thugs. Lups whirled, and drew her double-scythe quickly, getting into a defensive stance before I could blink.

"Look at the freaks!" One thug taunted.

"What's with the dweeby costumes?" asked another.

"This ain't Halloween." Another noted. I narrowed my eyes. Isn't it obvious we're not wearing costumes? We would look dweeby if we were. And we don't look dweeby, so...

"You're going down, freaks!" the leader called, twirling a staff like this wasn't his first time using it. "Nobody messes with the Purple Dragons, especially wearing stupid animal costumes!" The leader continued.

"Deja-vu, Don." I said, nodding at the man with the staff. Don just glared at me. I now noticed the several other thugs, joining the first four. I gulped. This could be bad...this could be very bad. We charged anywho, and beat the thugs into a pile. We smirked, standing over the thugs smugly, brandishing our weapons.

"Let's get outta here!" The leader cried, and all the thugs beat a hasty retreat.

"Gimme some green and brown!" Mikey cried, holding his hands up to both Lupa and Raph, who high-three-d (Raph) and four-ed (Lupa) him.

"Well, that was easier than expected." Don commented.

"Yeah..." I agreed.

"I hope there are more of those guys. I was just getting started." Raph growled, twirling his weapons with an almost maniacal grin on his face.

"Uh, well, looks like you got your wish, Raphie-boy!" Mikey replied, pointing to the rooftop. Then, the hairs on the back of my neck tingled as I gazed up to find shadowy figures standing where we had been standing not too long ago.

"Eep!" I cried, as the ninjas leaped down, much like we had done, and assumed stances we had been reviewing this very evening. I gulped.

"Are those guys...ninjas?" Me and Leo asked in synch, as we were quickly, and thoroughly, surrounded by a wall of black clothing.

"Jynx." I muttered, and resumed the stance I had just dropped. I gripped my tomahawks in readiness.

"Well, they're certainly ninja-esque!" Mikey retorted wryly.

"Be ready...for anything." Leo ordered, leaning back to make sure we heard him.

"I am _so_ gonna enjoy this." Raph muttered gleefully.

"Of course _you _would." I replied.

"Hey! I am, too!" Lupa whined. I rolled my eyes. Don vaulted over several ninjas, landed in a crouch, and spun their legs out from under them before the ninjas knew what had hit them. He stood, as I batted away at my own group. They were down for the count in less than a minute. Two got past me and charged Don, but they weren't a problem for him. However, the ninjas we had just beaten got up, and resumed fighting. Three or more landed in a semi-circle around Raph, and he was left to dodge their attacks.

"Hey, sweet Dragon Kick. He-he, nice Double Phoenix Punch." Raph said, dodging the very moves he was naming. "Hey, know this one?" He asked, before spin kicking the poor ninjas away.

"Raph, we're here to _fight_ them, _not_ comment on their moves!" I call.

"Sorry, sis. Got carried away." Raph replied. Not far away, Leo was engaging a katana-wielding ninja, knocking him aside and flipping away from the remaining ones. He landed with a slight grimace on the first rooftop ring around the courtyard. I flipped up, as well, landing on one of the multiple ninjas that had advanced on Leo. One landed out of my reach, and ran along the wall, slicing at Leo as he passed by. I charged, as Leo knocking him back a few feet. I was by Leo's side in an instant, but was knocked down almost as soon as I got there. I landed harshly in the middle of a small gathering, and flipped up instantly, managing to knock a few ninjas out as I landed. I was soon overwhelmed, and kicked back into the van, along with Donnie and Mikey. I rubbed my rib cage, where I had gotten kicked, and stood, ready to continue.

"Don..are _we_ beating _them_, or are _they_ beating _us_?" Mikey asked, and I saw more ninjas appear around us, advancing menacingly. Then they reached into their cloths, and drew out shurikens, throwing them with deadly accuracy. I gasped, and reached for the van's door handle, wrenching it open, and diving inside, even as Don did the same. He also grabbed Mikey and hauled him inside, closing the door just before we were impaled. It was stuffy in there, but thankfully we reopened the door a few seconds later.

I leaped out, and everyone got out with me. Raph and Leo joined us as the ninjas gathered around us, ready to attack.

"Ask me again when we're winning, Mikey." Don replied.

"Yeah...That's what I thought." Mikey muttered, spying the shurikens that had almost had our heads. "Don...hot-wire this thing!" I cried. "We need a ride out of here!"

"How many'a dese goons do we gotta beat before dey got da hint?" Raph asked rhetorically.

"Really." Mikey whined. "They just keep coming."

"Time to switch to plan B." Leo said, meaning escape. He turned to look at the van. "Donatello?"

"Almost there, Leo." Don said, tapping two wires together, and the van started up. "This bus now leaving for...anywhere-but-here!" He said as he sat up and closed the driver door. Raph and Lupa still looked ready to fight, so Leo and I sheathed our weapons. I grabbed my sister's mask tails, and Leo grabbed Raph's shoulder.

"Come on!" Leo ordered over the sound of the truck before I could utter one syllable. "We're leaving!" Don pressed the gas pedal to the floor, and we leapt into the back and closed the doors swiftly. It was a bumpy ride, to put it gently. We were tossed around like rag dolls while trying to keep on the back seats. It wasn't working.

"Nice driving, Don!" Mikey said sarcastically. "For a turtle with no license!"

"Hey, you want _pretty_? Or you want _effective_?" Don retorted.

"Would _both_ be too much to ask?" I snapped, gripping the edge of my seat in fright as the van continued to bounce. I rolled my eyes. I suppose beggars could not be choosers... "Nevermind." I huffed, crossing my arms before having to grab hold of something to steady myself. It was no good. I was tossed up and ended up on my butt on the floor of the van.

"I gotta tell yah...this has been one mundo-bizzaro day." Mikey noted as he was bounced about.

"Night, really." Lupa noted wryly.

"Whatever, Lu-Lu." Mikey replied, sticking his tongue playfully at his sister. "Anyway, first there were all those metal things underground, and—what's with all those ninjas?" He asked sullenly, leaning back to try and stabilize himself. "Ninjas in New York City, besides us? It's just not right!"

"There's nothing that prohibits them." I mused, frowning in thought. There was something about them...that rang an old bell in my head. Something about seemed familiar. "What I wanna know is why they attacked us without reason."

"Talk about not right." Raph growled, picking up one of the many duffel bags. He unzipped it to find that it was stuffed with cash. I blinked. That was a ton of money. Whoa...that poor victim... "Check this out." He said, dumping the cash unceremoniously onto the floor. Mikey and Lupa immediately grabbed a wad in each hand, gleeful expressions almost maniacal.

"Show me the money, baby! Whah—whoo!" They cried. I sighed. Immature as always...I grabbed the money in the young mutants' hands, stuffing the wads back into the bag with the rest of the stash.

"Hey, Don. Cop alert! Stop real quick so we can give the money back." I said, grabbing the bags as the van slowed to a halt.

"Alright, but we gotta make this quick!" Don replied, looking over the seat at me. "We don't know if those ninjas are following us." He gulped, face face slightly drained of color. "Oh, and Sensei's still expecting us." I blanched. Oh, _shoot_!

"Noted." I replied, and Leo grabbed another couple of bags. We rolled the window down.

"Take care of this money, will yah guys?" We called, chucking all the bags out onto the windshield of the cop car.

"Thanks!" I called back as we rolled the window back up, tearing down toward the manhole we had emerged from, and heading toward the rough location of the South Junction. We ended up having to go around a building and smashing through a gate to get back into the sewers. I felt relief fill me as...

Wait...why are there holes in the ground? What happened? What did I miss? Oh, wait. There are those weird metal things all over the ground.

Yikes! I lept out and scurried over to Sensei, hugging him fiercely. I was quickly followed by the rest of my siblings and we basically dog-piled our poor dad. We let go, and smiled, relieved to be back with Sensei in the sewers.

"I am glad to see you, too, my children." Sensei chuckled.

"Sensei, _so_ much has happened." Leo told him.

"That's an understatement." Lupa and I replied, giggling. It was _quite_ the adventure.

"Yes, yes. There will be time to tell me all about it later, Leonardo." Sensei said fondly, smiling at all of us. He knew Leo was usually the one that loved recounting our adventures. He always told it so well, it made me sort of jealous, really. "But first, I wish to take you all home." Sensei said, walking toward one of the holes in the ground. I cocked a brow. What did Sensei mean? It took a second for it to sink it. oh. Sensei...wait...Sensei already found a new home?! How?! What happened while we were gone?!

"Home?" Mikey repeated.

"We got no home. Those robots trashed our pad, remember Sensei?" Raph added, kicking a metal head away. Sensei just smiled and kept walking.

"Do not worry. I think I have found a solution to our current housing problem." Knew it. "Follow me, children." He said, leaping down. I frowned, but did as Sensei had told us. I ended up on my butt on some wild, impromptu slide, careening toward the bottom. Leo and Don came tumbling on my heels.

"Not funny Raph!" I heard Mikey scream as he came sliding after Don and Leo. I smiled, stumbling as I landed on the floor of a sewer tunnel. What has Raph done now? I had to leap out of the way toward Sensei as the rest of the mutants came crashing into the tunnel, landing in a pile of limbs, shells, and fur. They one by one extracted themselves. I shook my head, smiling. Some things never change.

"_Wicked_ slide!" Mikey chirped.

"Let's do that again!" Lupa added.

"NO!" Everyone replied. Mikey eagerly ran to catch up to Sensei.

"No offense, Sensei, but this place doesn't seem so great."

"Mikey!" I snapped. He cringed, but Sensei walked on, without a sign of being affected my his son's disrespect. "At least Sensei found something! Geez!"

"I mean, I guess it's okay..." He amended. Lupa had caught up, as well.

"It's just that...this is exactly like our old house." Lupa explained tentatively, watching Sensei and I's reaction. I rolled my eyes, but found Sensei's lack of response a little weird.

"Look with your heart, and not your eyes, you two." Sensei instructed, still smiling. I frowned. Was this our home? Didn't seem like it. It seems like Sensei was waiting until we got a certain point. Lupa and Mikey just looked at each other, confusion in their eyes.

"Um...okay." They said, scratching their heads.

"And walk this way." Sensei added. Mikey then bent over and performed an actually fairly good impression of the way Sensei walks. I shook my head, chuckling as Don whacks Mikey upside the head with his staff.

"You goofball." Lu-Lu said fondly.

"But you love me anyway." Mikey chirped, leaning on his sister's shoulder. It was no surprise that she thrust him off almost immediately.

"Don't push it."

"Relax, you two. Come on." I said, chuckling again. Soon, we came upon an abandoned...cave-like structure that actually looked a bit like some kinda home. It was a circular shape (or was it a pentagon? It was hard to tell) with a second floor that ran around the first in a balcony-like hallway that was easy to flip or climb up onto. It, sadly, was in pretty bad shape, but nothing we couldn't fix up and make an even better home out of than out last one! Everyone who doubted Sensei (MIKEY) was forced to eat their words.

"I could really tune this space up." Donnie breathed, looking around in awe and wonder. I smiled, leaning on his shoulder.

"You mean _we_ will tune this space up. As a family."

"Yeah!" Lupa cried, squealing excitedly. She was giggling and running around, looking at every little thing. Mikey was busy calling various spaces as his own, foolishly assuming those claims would actually stick when all was said and done.

"You see my sons, and daughters, change is good."

"Yeah. If those metal things hadn't busted our old pad, we'd still be living in a dead-end tunnel."

"Wow, sis. That's actually insightful." Lupa said, laughing as she leaned against my shoulder. "I hadn't thought about it like that." I scoffed playfully.

"Naturally." Leo rolled his eyes.

"We couldn't agree more, Master Splinter." Said rat smirked.

"Good. So, let's see you children clean up for a change." He ordered. We groaned. "This chamber is _filthy_! And do not leave Asami to do everything."

"Not like we do that...any_more_, Sensei!" Lupa called as she kicked a piece of cement away moodily. She always got a little bit defensive when anyone suggested that she skimped on her duties.

"Well...besides with the dishes." I snarked, moving a pipe aside.

"Those don't count!" Lupa growled under her breath., picking up a larger piece of cement and tossing it toward the way we had come in. I grabbed another piece and threw it.

"Yeah, they do." This back-and-forth ("Yeah!" "No!") lasted until we had cleaned up a ten foot radius of the entrance. Which was only, like, two minutes, tops. We then dropped it and continued cleaning. Change was good. We would still be ignorant of the good we could be doing on the surface world if we had never taken that chance, if we had never leapt out of our comfort zone and gone above our known and familiar world. As usual, Sensei was correct.

This will be a great change to make. As a family.

**THAT ENDING AS DULL AND FLAT AS CRAP. I GET IT. I GOT WRITER'S BLOCK AND CAN'T THINK OF A BETTER WAY TO END IT! SORRY. ANYWAY, HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS! LEMME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK IN A REVIEW, AND ALL THAT JAZZ. **


	2. s01e02 A Better Mousetrap

**IT LIVES! MWAHAHA! AND IT'S ON TIME (SORTA)!**

***CLEARS THROAT* WELL, EXCUSE THAT BREAK IN PROFESSIONALISM. HEH. I JUST GET EXCITED GIVING YOU ALL THESE CHAPTERS. SORRY THEY'RE LONG, BUT I DON'T WANNA CUT THE EPISODES OFF IN THE MIDDLE, YAH KNOW? I'M NOT THAT KINDA AUTHOR. IT'S ALL OR NOTHING. SO...**

**GOD BLESS AND GOOD DAY!**

**~THE LUPINE SOJOURNER**

It may have taken a few solid days of work, but this place is _amazing_! We have the bedrooms and kitchen set up and...uh, okay, so they're not quite lit and working, but we're working on that. Right now, as a matter of fact. But, hey, we have an indoor pool that leads...well, we haven't _really_ scoped it out yet, but it's _wicked_. Me and Lupa, after a hard day's work, like to see how far down we can dive before we have to resurface. (So far, she's beaten me by a _whopping_ three inches, apparently, though I _swear_ she just fabricated those numbers.) Then it's off to bed before another day of electrician work with Don. I'm the only mutant that comes as close as anyone else to Don's intellect. I understood the bare basics (and even _that_ much wasn't perfect) of wiring. Even so, Donnie had to come behind me and carefully explain everything I had done wrong while correcting it. It was both training and helping get this place up and running as a fully operational home. I was fascinated by the process, if not frustrated by the electricity that now had my fur on edge when I made a mistake during the actual wiring. _Ugh._ _OW! Another shock. Youch! What did I do wrong __**this**__ time?_ I huff and cross my arms. _These stupid wires!_

"You okay?" Don asked, chuckling from his position several feet along the balcony. I sucked my finger to try and relieve the tingling. We _really_ need to turn off the electricity before we play with the wires.

"Not really." I grumbled around my finger. Donnie shook his head and maneuvered himself over. He was smiling at me again, like 'what did she do this time?' _I don't appreciate that, Donnie._

"Didn't you see that you were trying to connect a green wire and a yellow wire?" I scowled. Knew I'd messed something up, but, with my lupine eyes...sometimes, my color went a little wonky. Especially when I was utterly focused on the task at hand. Like now. Or when I was experiencing times of high stress. It used to be all the time, coming and going at random before puberty hit, before my human side apparently became a bit more prominent and the bursts were decidedly more infrequent. However, whenever they came, there was no treatment, and I was left to simply suffer through it. Now, I scratched the back of my head nervously.

"Not really." I mumbled softly, cheeks aflame and not meeting my brother's eyes. Don frowned. He was on to me. He always is. It's annoying.

"I thought you said those fits didn't come as often." I frowned, crossing my arms in a black mood. Out of all my brothers, Don was the most concerned about my lack of color, which meant testing out various prototype contact lenses that either made the colors so vivid, I got a headache, or they left me with absolutely no color at all. I gave up, telling Don I'd refuse any more lenses he tried to get me to test.

"They were—_are_!" I retorted, adjusting myself in my harness. "It's just...I was _really_ focused. And besides...it _looked_ right." Don sighed.

"I told you to tell me when they happen, Asami." I pouted.

"I just did. And...you know I hate this. It's stupid. It's just part of being mostly canine. I think you need to stop monitoring it." Don huffed as he crossed his arms moodily.

"I have a feeling you just like being independent." I sighed.

"Right. I do, and this is _humiliating_ for me! It's just...I can't control it, and it feels akin to playing God to try and mess with your body for no reason. He gave me this new form, and this family. I don't want to change something he designed. Besides, it's not like it's a _major_ drawback." Don blinked. I had told him all this before, and it never ceased to surprise him. He didn't seem to understand that I don't really _care_. Sure, I moaned and groaned about it in my youth, perhaps a bit too much...but now...I've accepted it. I've moved on in life, but Don doesn't seem to get that. I roll my eyes, and go back to wiring, noticing that, yes, those wires were indeed different colors. Frowning in concentration, I connected the wires, this time making double sure they were the right colors. Within five minutes, though, we heard a soft groan from Mikey. In sync, we chuckled. Mikey had stacked about twenty (the actual number was probably more than that) different screens to that one wall. How we were actually supposed to watch anything with that set-up in any sort of normal capacity was beyond me.

"What's the matter, Mikey?" Don asked, as we repelled down to the ground level, unclasping from the harness as soon as our feet touched solid ground. "Can't decide what to watch?"

"Oh, the horror!" I cried in mock-despair, throwing my hand to my brow overly-dramatically, sighing to complete the picture. Mikey stuck his tongue at me.

"Haha, Asami. No. I need more power, captain." He explained in a horrid impression of that engineering guy in Star Trek. Scot? Sporty? Something like that... "The Turtle Cave must be set for maximum entertainment potential." I scoffed and rolled my eyes. Mikey then plugged it all in, and turned it on. I gasped as the wave of pure noise set me on my butt. _The static noise and light of_ that_ many screens and at_ that_ high a volume was decidedly_ not_ a good idea, Mikey!_ I groaned inwardly, clutching my ears.

"Aw, geez! That...that hurt." I whimpered, clutching my ears. That static noise was almost like a dog whistle to me. That, and the fact that it was coming from several sources _at once_ only made it that much worse. Mikey gasped, concern and worry plastered on his face.

"Sorry, Ami! I really didn't...I, uh, here let me..." I stood, shaking my head, waving off his offer of help up.

"Nah, it's fine, bro. Nothin' you can do. It just startled me, is all. I didn't have a warning." Don hummed.

"I should have figured that static and white noise would register more for wolves than turtles. Oops."

"It's fine, guys. Just a jump-scare. That's all. Really." Don smiled, then turned to Mikey.

"Anyway...The 'Turtle Cave'?" Donnie scoffed. "That is _so_ lame."

"Hate to admit it, bro, but Don's got something there." I chuckled, leaning against a pillar next to our couch, watching as Sensei worked on a training dummy. I had gone with him to get the sand to fill it, and hunted burlap sacks to construct it out of for him."Nice dummy, Sensei." I noted, as Mikey scoffed.

"'The Shell-ter'?" I was the one to scoff, snorting and shaking my head. Those two could get as bad as Leo and Raph over the dumbest things.

"Cus that's _so_ much better." I snark sarcastically, laughing as Mikey stuck his tongue at me again. Don frowned in thought. I face-palmed. Were they _really_ doing this?

"Uh...how about 'the Sewer of Solitude'?" Don suggested, waving dramatically as I pulled a face.

"No way! _Hate_ Superman." I replied. The boys, apparently, didn't hear me.

"'Terrapin Station'?" Mikey tried. I sighed.

"Lame. And turtles aren't the only species here."

"'The School for Gifted Reptiles'?" I blinked. Wow. How nerdy can one turtle be?

"_Heck_ to the no." Mikey was in his element now, though.

"'The Hall of Nin-Justice'?"

"What is _wrong_ with you two?! _No_!" Though I sounded annoyed and irritated, the smirk on my face betrayed my amusement. Don and Mikey were glaring at each other in a manner similar to Leo and Raph, but much less intense, much less electric. Splinter cleared his throat, putting aside the dummy and standing up. His look was both amused and slightly irritated. Mainly amused, however.

"We shall call this place 'Home'." He instructed, and the turtles' faces softened slightly.

"Catchy." Mikey noted.

"A fully operational one, to boot." I added. Mikey giggles, hand over his mouth in a vain attempt to stifle the noise.

"Til some lucky X-wing pilot shoots a laser into the main reactor."

"_Egad_!" I groan, throwing my hands in the air. "Is there any reference he will not make?"

"Nope!" Both turtles replied, grinning. I deadpanned.

"_Figures_."

"Now, what is keeping Leonardo, Raphael, and Lupa?" Dad inquired, looking around curiously. I frowned. Now that I think about it...he's right. They probably should have been back by now. I mean, as long as there are none of those mechanical menaces around...they should be fine. I hope. Maybe they ran into sewer workers and had to take the scenic route. It's been known to happen.

"They just went to get the last of our old stuff from the Lair." Don explained placatingly. I scoffed, crossing my arms bitterly.

"What's left of that place." I muttered. "Those things sure did a good job over there." Don had run over to the table he had placed a relatively intact demonic robot to study. I walked over, too, frowning distrustfully at the metal pieces.

He was far too curious...that thing gives me the heebies-jeebies..."And, the way the new Sewer-Slider is performing, they should be here any minute now." Donnie said with a grin as he grabbed a screwdriver and started trying to take the foot of the mechanical thing apart. It fizzled and smoked slightly. Don blinked. I chuckled.

"Didn't expect that, did yah?" I snarked, hands on hips, smug expression evident, and sarcastic grin in place. Don frowned at me.

"Shut up, Ami." He grumbled. I laughed. Then frowned at the head that still seemed to be eying me, weighing me up. Don tapped it dejectedly.

"Give up on that thing, bro. It's _never_ gonna work again, ever. And besides, it's creeping me out." I said, a shiver racing up my spine. Don sighed.

"Your sister is correct, my son. Even though it is inactive, that thing still makes me uneasy, Donatello." Dad mumbled, eying the robotic bits and pieces suspiciously.

"You're telling me." I groaned, frowning again. Donnie sighed.

"This is state of the art mechanics, Sensei. Brilliant work. I just gotta know what makes it tick." I slapped a hand over my face. Leave it to my brother to dissect any and everything that fascinates him. It had taken him a mere hour to take apart the first toaster Sensei and I brought home. Dad had then told Don to either fix it, or go alone to find a replacement as a lesson in taking responsibility for your mistakes. Donnie was about ten at the time. Of course, I would have shadowed Don had he needed to go get a new toaster, made sure he found his way home and all that, but it would be up to Don to fix what he had done wrong.

Thankfully, he had figured it out. He had been getting his hands on as many books on mechanics and tools as he could find after that.

"Only you..." I said, trailing off as lights flooded into the Lair. I smiled as the Sewer-Slider came in for a landing. Leo and Raph hopped out, grinning. Lupa reached into the mass of things on top of the Slider and pulled off a small cardboard box, twirling it on her fingertips.

"Hey, Mikey! Good news. Our DVD collection survived."

"Awesome!" The mutant addressed chirped, giving a wide, goofy grin, and instantly reaching for the TV remote, just as Lu-lu did the same. Mikey stuck his tongue at Lupa when he got to it first. I rolled my eyes. Those two... "Let's throw in something light on story and heavy on gory, cus the Video Monolith is ready to rock and roll!" Mikey then clicked the power button. There was a split second of that accursed white noise, but then a news channel came on, talking about some new invention being unveiled at Stocktronics. Don'll wanna hear about this. He almost never gets to hear about his role model and slight idol.

"Don! Dr. Stockman's on!" I called. I heard a _thump_ as whatever tool Don was using clattered to the floor. Lupa and Mikey looked at each other. Then, in sync, they gagged and pretended to yawn at the display. I, however, was slightly intrigued. The TV showed a standard testing room with something large under a sheet, with another large blanket-covered lump near the white-coat-wearing genius himself. There was another scientist in the room, a young woman with red hair back in a ponytail, holding a cardboard box, smiling shyly at the camera as she nervously tucked at her hair. The reporter announced that Dr. Stockman was personally unveiling the newest invention.

"_A wise man once said, 'build a better mousetrap, and the door will beat a path to your door'." _I frowned as Dr. Stockman polished his glasses, then smirked at the camera. What did that mean? And who says stuff like that? _"Well, I say, 'let the path-beating begin!'"_As always, I was amazed that Donnie liked this guy. He was so narcissistic and egotistical. He drove me nuts. _"For I, Dr. Baxter Stockman, have designed the solution to the city's ever-growing rat problem." _I swallowed. Weren't those mechanical things chasing _Splinter_ before? Hadn't they singled him, _a giant **rat**_, out when they trashed our last house? I suddenly have a very bad feeling about this...the object Stockman is unveiling is around the same size as those monsters. _"Ladies and Gentleman, I give you the ultimate innovation in rodent-terminating technology; the Stocktronic MOUSER!" _I blinked in shock! It...it was one of those things that ate our home! That thing is a _menace_, not a boon! Beside me, Raph growled, tense as a coiled spring. His fingers inched toward his sais.

"I can't believe that the famous Baxter Stockman would try to pass these things off as a good thing." Don mused, holding up the MOUSER head he brought over for no reason. I inched away from it warily, still feeling as if it may activate and attack us again. Mikey reached over and grabbed it. Turning to his younger sister, he used it as a puppet.

"Heh. And what's with those glasses?" He quipped. "Dork city." He mocked. I rolled my eyes as Don smacked Mikey over the head, Lu-Lu chuckling in the background, then leapt five feet in the air as Raph slammed a sai into one of the TVs.

"Raph! Go punch the dummy! Those TVs don't grow on trees." I groaned, watching as the now shattered screen sparked and crackled.

"I say we go over to Stocktronics and kick some serious shell!" Raph growled. I was a bit stunned. I knew Raph could get a bit testy and moody...but to go _this_ far after all of Splinter's lectures...eesh. Raph was moving toward the door, and just as I prepared to leap and tackle my brother, Dad appeared in front of Raph out of nowhere and smacked Raph with his staff.

Dad had long since abandoned spanking. "Absolutely _not_!" Raph clutched his head, grimacing in pain. "Your last venture to the surface was a _disaster_!" He growled, blocking the door. I blinked. Geez... "You can ill afford to be seen by more humans." Dad went on. As if I needed reminding. The TV screens then distracted us again as Dr. Stockman finished explaining what the MOUSERs did. He then had his assistant, apparently called Ms. O'Neil, release the contents of the box she was holding. Rats. Dr. Stockman than set the MOUSER in front of one of the entrances to the maze on the floor.

"_Now...behold the sheer genius of my MOUSER in action!" _Baxter boasted. We watched, horror-struck, as the rats were eaten, one by one. I blinked. Poor rats...geez...

"Man..." Mikey whined. "I'd sure hate to be a rat in this town." He blinked, realization dawning even as Lupa smacked his head. "Ow! Sorry, Sensei." He mumbled. Father, however, makes no move to even acknowledge Mikey's insensitivity.

"_And the search and retrieval functions are all ingeniously controlled by a remote mother computer."_ The doctor went on to explain. I flinched. Those things were _programmed_ to wreak destruction, just to kill a few _rats_?! How were these things _ever_ approved for production?! Regardless, Lupa had had enough of the unveiling, and turned the television off. We all just stood there for a few moments.

"Training." Splinter ordered after a minute or two. We all shook ourselves and obeyed. Splinter decided to repeat the earlier exercise, but with the lights on and no candle. We were all included this time, as well. I charged first, letting Splinter make the first move. I countered as we swung at each other, fairly evenly matched.

For a moment, then Splinter's tail snapped around my legs, and as I lost balance, a foot connected soundly with my chest and I went flying backwards, stumbling and collidng with the wall. Groaning, I stand and move out of the way. Donnie was next, but was sent reeling back soon after. "Do not lean with your shoulders, Donatello." He advised. Leo came at dad next, with both swords out. Dad stops the strike and before Leo can counter, Splinter sends him back with a hard palm-strike to his plastron. I wince. That looked painful. "Faster on your counter attack, Leonardo."

"Good try, though." I add, giving my brother a thumbs up. Mikey and Lupa (attacking together again) don't last two seconds, falling to essentially the same tactic as before; Splinter tripping them up.

"Mind your footwork, children." Raph just started swinging, but left himself completely open to dad's counter, knocking both sai away. I blinked.

"You okay, Raph?" I ask. He gruffly turns away, but is halted by dad pinning him to a pillar with his stick.

"You are distracted, Raphael." He notes. Raph grunts, not even trying to get out of dad's hold. "You must learn to focus your attacks."

"Yeah? I'd like to 'focus My attacks' on that Stockman guy." Dad walked away, the lesson over. but Raph wasn't done. "Why can't we go topside and show him a little mean'n'green?"

"Because I _forbid_ it." Was the grim reply. Raph groans. However, dad is only interested in going to his room. "We will resume your training in the morning." He calls as the automatic doors close behind him. Mikey chuckles and nudges Lupa to get her attention.

"'We will resume your training in the morning'." He repeats in a slightly mocking voice.

"I heard that." Splinter calls from his room. I can't help but laugh.

"Busted." Don quips. Raph growls, grinding his fist into his palm.

"I'd like to bust a few heads!" He growled. I rolled my eyes.

"That's out of the question, and you know it." Raph grunted and turned his back on me. Mikey shrugged.

"Chill, bro. We don't need no sticking surface world." He said in a placating tone that was anything but placating to Raph. "We got late movies, top video countdown, BMX highlights, some _really_ weird Korean soap opera-"

"Or," Don interjected, slipping his goggles on and firing up his blowtorch. "you could give me a hand with these MOUSER parts. If I can get one working, I can trace it back to its source and find out what Stockman's _really_ using them for." I sighed heavily.

"If it means tearing those things apart...I guess I'll do it." I say and head over. As I'm putting a second pair of goggles on, I hear Raph yawn wearily.

"Y'all go ahead. I'm beat. I'm gonna wreck." I frowned.

"Since when does Raph turn in so early?" Leo and I asked.

"He probably just wanted to get out of playing with Don's freaky science project." Lupa replied. Don frowns, but makes no comment as I nod in agreement. We worked for two hours before I decided to hit the hay. I called out a goodnight to Mike and Lupa, who were watching a horror movie marathon or something of that nature.

=#=#=#=#=

Leo woke me a little while later with a hand on my shoulder, gesturing for me to follow him. We left the Lair, but halted only a short distance away.

"Leo, what-" He put a hand over my mouth and a finger to his. Soon enough, we heard a soft _thud_ as someone landed a flip from the top floor. Raph, I realize, as he passed the entertainment center. I stood off in the shadows at Leo's direction. I suppose I'm the back-up if things go south here.

"Midnight stroll?" Leo asked tersely, knowing full well what Raph was up to.

"Outta my way, Leo." Raph growled. I decided, Leo's blessing or not, to come and try to reason with Raph.

"Cool it, Raph." I growl. "Listen to me. This is a suicide mission, going off alone like this, and you know. We _all_ want a piece of Stockman, but storming over to Stocktronics won't get us anywhere but a grave yard. So what, we go there? So what, we get in undetected? We're going along, just fine, when, _oh, no_, there are invisible tripwires that raise the silent alarm. And then, we're swamped in MOUSERs and the others would have no idea what happened to us. Is that really how you want to go?" To My shock, Raph actually hesitated for a second. Then, he frowned, growling low in his throat.

"I gotta go." He says after a moment. I cross My arms.

"Then I suppose I've gotta stop you." I reply.

"Master Splinter said we stay put." Leo growled. Raph got into a ready stance.

"Look, I'll go through the both of you if I have to."

"Just go inside, Raph." I try, one last time, to reason with him as I get into a stance myself. "Please. Don's cookin' up that MOUSER so we can track it back to Stocktronics. It might even deactivate security when it arrives, so let's just cool off and head back to bed." Raph just sinks deeper into the stance as Leo readies himself.

"I dunno. I kinda want to see him try to get through us, the hothead." Leo growls. I roll my eyes. There goes any slim chance I _might_ have had of convincing my hot-head of a brother to go inside.

"Careful what you wish for, Splinter Jr!" Raph roars, leaping at Leo. I can only try to pull Raph and Leo apart, which does nothing.

"Stoppit!" I growl, continuing to fail at getting these two off each other. Then suddenly, a MOUSER comes racing past us. I flinch back, fear overriding reason. "What the heck?!" Don follows close behind the metal monster, with our other two siblings hot on his heels.

"Hey, guys, I got one working!" Don chirps. I exhale slowly.

"A little warning next time, bro. You scared the _crap_ outta me!" I reply. He merely shrugs.

"Come on!" Mikey cries.

"He's faster than he looks!" Lupa adds, matching Mikey's look of concentration. Leo gulps. It's clear he's unsure of what to do.

"So..." Raph starts. Neither turtle had moved, even as I start off after the others. "You just gonna let that MOUSER roam free?" I only hear snatches of Leo's reply as they get up and come after us. We chase it for what feels like hours before it goes out over a drainage junction, the whirlpool giving me vertigo. I focused on Leo's shell directly ahead of me and it helps a little.

"Watch your step here, guys. Don't want to end up as turtle soup." Leo notes.

"Or wolf flambe." Lupa adds. I face-palm.

"That isn't even close to the same thing, sis. Just keep going." I reply. She shrugs. Just up ahead, I watch in fascinated frustration as the MOUSER literally walks up the wall. I groan.

"Resourceful little...critter." Don growls, frowning.

"I'll say." Lupa and I agree.

"So, what do we do now?" Raph asks. Leo thinks for a moment.

"Like Master Splinter says, a ninja is always prepared." Leo replies, reaching into his belt for shuko spikes even as I'm slipping mine on.

"I thought that was the boy scouts." Mikey quips. He and Lupa high-five, but then cry out in alarm. Their spikes have gotten stuck together. I groan, separating them in a second.

"_Focus_, you two. Come on!" I start climbing, followed by the rest of my siblings. We climb higher and higher, following the tracks the MOUSER left behind. It seems to go on forever.

"Ugh! Next time, let's leave the wall-crawling to the dude in the red and blue tights." I hang my head in frustration.

"You mean Spiderman?" Lupa asks. I feel my right eye twitch in irritation. Honestly, those two can be the worst nerds sometimes.

"Just keep climbing, guys." I order, and they do.

"You two read _way_ too many comic books." Leo growls.

"Tell me about it." I reply. Soon enough, the MOUSER heads into a tunnel and we all breath a sigh of relief. Climbing walls was as fun to me as the next mutant, but that was _ridiculous_! We take off running again, and I feel my legs start to burn.

"Just curious, Don. What's to stop ole Turbo-Jaws from chewing up another 6.2 on the Richter scale?" Mike asks after a moment. I hum.

"Good question." Lupa and I add. Don smirks.

"I shut down it's jaw servos. It couldn't even chew through a stick of gum." He replies. It then promptly began to chew through the wall! I flinched back, shocked. I trusted that Don at least thought he had shut down those servos, but...apparently, it didn't take. Don deflated slightly.

"You were saying?" Raph snarked. I rolled my eyes.

"But I—I'm _sure_ I shut them down." Mikey put a hand on his brother's shoulder, which was slumped slightly in his depression.

"Don's finally lost his techno-mojo. Sad, really."

"Yeah. Oh, well." Lupa added, grinning.

"Guys, knock it off." I retort, rolling my eyes again. Don gripped his chin, minding his spikes, and frowned in thought.

"It must have some kind of security override routine." He muttered.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, bro." Lupa said placatingly. I glare at her and she shrugs.

"Come on!" Don calls as he takes off. Only to stop seconds later because he, and I, noticed the gaping hole in the support structure of the pipes above us! "Oh, no."

"What is it, Don?"

"Bad. Very, very bad." I whimper. Lupa notices it, too, and shrugs.

"Pipes leak all the time."

"Shut it, Lu. This is serious."

"Asami's right." Don adds. "If I'm not mistaken, that's a serious water main hanging over our heads." Raph didn't get it.

"Dude, _look_ at it!" I retort. Raph takes a glance upward.

"So?" I huff in frustration. Being an observant wolf among turtles can be exhausting.

"'So'?!" Don snaps. "Our little MOUSER friend just ate through the pipe's _support_!"

"And without it..." I add as the pipe's groaning becomes louder and it begins to shake and tremble.

"Incoming!" Leo screams, too late. We are washed down the tunnel by a flood of water so powerful, it knocks the wind out of me. Thinking quickly as we fell toward the swirling vortex of high-pressure water below, Don takes his staff out, and uses it to hang like laundry from a pipe that goes across the circular room.

"Grab on!" He cries, and we all, naturally, do just that. Don grunts under the weight. I feel bad for him, but can't move, as I am hanging from Leo's legs and Lupa is hanging from mine. Mikey looks around. Or so I assume, judging by the way the line of mutants swings slightly.

"Ow!" Raph yelps. "Watch where you point those shuko spikes, Mike!" He growls.

"Oh, keep your shell on, Raph. I got an idea!" Mikey calls back, and starts swinging the line violently.

"Mikey, _stop_!" I yell. Lupa's spike dig painfully into my ankles and I know it's the same for everyone, as we all protest. But, we are left with no other choice, letting go and falling at an angle through the waterfall nearest us. Spiking the wall, I pant and spit out water.

"That was _insane,_ Mike!" Lupa cries. "Don't ever do anything like that again." She growls.

"Agreed." I add.

"Guys, you okay?" Don asks. Raph spits out a small fountain of water before replying.

"_Peachy_." He growls sarcastically.

"At least we aren't hanging by each other's ankles anymore." I muse.

"Don't make it right." Raph snaps. I roll my eyes.

"No point arguing now. Just climb. We gotta catch up to that stupid metal butt-head." I reply tersely, climbing with no small amount of irritation at my siblings. Once we got back to the area we were washed back from, we tore off the spike and put them back in our belts.

"When I find that metal menace, I'm gonna grind it into little bot-burgers." Raph growls.

"Take it easy, Raph." Don replies. "We still gotta keep him in one piece." Mikey frowns.

"What makes you think we'll even _find_ the little blender-butt?" He grumbles. Lupa face-palms.

"Uh, Mike..."

"I think he left us a few clues." Leo muses sarcastically, turning his littlest brother toward the munched-through wall behind him. We head down the tunnel eaten through the walls, and it seems to stretch for an eternity before we finally come out onto abandoned train tracks. Or, at least, we _thought_ they were abandoned. "Look out!" Leo exclaims, drawing Raph back just in time as a train rips past, just inches away from the boys.

"You two okay?" I ask worriedly as Leo all but tosses Raph back when the train passes. They nod, pale and slightly shaky with shock.

"Yeah...yeah, I think we're good, sis." Raph replies. When the train has passed, the MOUSER was nowhere to be seen.

"Whoa!" Mikey cries. "Robo-Houdini!" Leo and I take a closer look...and find the MOUSER, hooked by its jaws to the back of the train!

"Wrong!" We reply in sync. "Robo-hitch-hiker!" Mikey runs a few steps forward.

"We'll never catch him now!" He groans. Raph turns.

"Two can play at that game." My eyes widened. No way. There was a train coming, and it might be a good way to catch up, but...no.

"Raph, don't you—_Raph_!" I scream as my idiotic brother leaps onto a _moving_ train! Leo gasps.

"What a maniac!"

"I know!" Lupa says with a grin. "He's awesome!"

"Yeah." Don agrees. "Wait for us!" He calls, pointlessly, since it's not like Raph can stop the train. I gulp thickly, but leap out, anyway. I barely catch a car's roof, swinging onto it and collapsing, shock and adrenaline coursing through my veins. Beside me, Lupa laughs.

"This is _awesome_!" She screams over the noise of the train.

"No, it is _not_!" I reply, clinging for dear life to the roof. Up ahead, through slightly streaming eyes, I see a blurry silver object roll on the tracks before walking away. We leap off, as well, sending a jolt up my knees. I shake it off and keep running, though. Once this tunnel has run it's course, we arrive at a crossroad of sorts, with the MOUSER just across the way. We move forward, only to spot another MOUSER right in front of us. Looking between the twin MOUSERS, I blink.

"Uh...didn't you only get _one_ running, D?" I ask timidly, fearing I already knew the answer.

"Yeah. Who invited him?" Mike replies, cocking a thumb at the extra MOUSER.

"I got it!" Raph calls, throwing a shuriken at the offending MOUSER, slicing neatly through it's head. It falls with a _clunk_ to the ground. Raph and Mike high-five, oblivious to the fact that the MOUSER got _right back up_!

"That's not good, guys." Leo groans.

"Yah _think_?!" I retort, drawing my tomahawks.

"Neither is _that_!" Don squeaks, pointing to where a miniature army of the little demons are coming right for us. "These chrome-domes are a lot tougher than the last batch!" He adds. Soon, we're surrounded.

"Yeah? And there's a lot more of them, too." Raph moans. We are all standing in a circle, weapons at the ready. "Great. Just great." He snaps sarcastically as the MOUSERs charge and we are swept up in the heat of battle.

"These MOUSERs are _amazing_!" Don cries, batting more away. "The servo-mechanics! The circuitry, the articulation!"

"Save it, D! Just smash 'em!" I growl, slicing another MOUSER neatly in half.

"Yeah, Don. Why doncha jes' _marry_ one already?!" Raph snaps. I snort.

"_Such_ a burn, Raph." I retort derisively. He merely grunts and destroys more MOUSERs. I notice one about to take a chunk out of Lupa's back, so I threw a shuriken to get it back and alert Lupa to its presence. It lays in shreds seconds later.

"Thanks." Lupa calls. I nod and slice deep into another MOUSER.

"Guys, the only way to defeat them is to slice their heads off." Leo notes during a slightl lull in MOUSERs.

"What'd yah _think_ we were doing?!" Lupa retorts and suddenly we're up to our eyeballs in MOUSERs again. We have to separate a little just to have enough room to swing our weapons. "This is fun!" Lupa suddenly chirps. "I feel like a Grim Reaper here." I roll my eyes.

"A scythe does not make you a Reaper, sis. Just keep these things from chomping you to pieces." I reply. She blows a raspberry at me.

"Great job, guys!" Don chirps. "Just make sure we leave one-" Raph was in the air even as Don orders one to remain "Intact."

"So much for tracing it back to the source." Leo grumbles sourly, sheathing his swords grumpily. Suddenly, I pick up the distinct sound of MOUSERs from a few tunnels away.

"Shh, guys. You hear that?" I ask. Only Lupa nods. "Come on! There's more MOUSERs, just a little ways away." We take off, and soon I hear gasps and cries of shock, coming from a fairly young female, if I'm not mistaken. Soon enough, I smell small traces of perfume and fear, leading into a nearby tunnel. We come down, only to find a red-haired woman in a purple crop-top and tan pants cornered by three MOUSERs. The woman screams again and covers her face with her arm, giving us the opportunity to slice the robots to bits and melt into the shadows before she realized that she wasn't robo-food. We turn to leave, but then she speaks, and we halt.

"Oh, thank you! Thank you!" She cried. "You saved my...my...m-my..." Mikey, I realized too late, was too close to the young woman for us to remain hidden in the shadows. To top it all off, he leaned out, completely exposing himself to the woman before us.

"_Mikey_!" I hiss, but it's too late. Her eyes widen and she gives a soft gasp before fainting. I face-palm.

"Hey. Soo, can I keep her?" Mikey asks cheerily, picking her up easily bridal style. I smack him upside the head.

"Mikey, she's not a _pet_!" I bark.

_Oh, man...What do we do **now**?_


	3. s01e03 Attack of the MOUSERs

Carrying the woman into our home brought us all no small sense of discomfort and anxiety. What were we _thinking_?! We _should_ have just brought her to the surface, but she could wake up at any moment and besides, now that she's seen us, we need to talk to her, make sure she understands that we are not to be talked about freely. Or at all.

Dad is _so_ gonna kill us...when he finds her. On the couch. _In plain sight_. Oh, man...

But, nerves and reflexive desire to run as fast and far as possible aside...it's kinda cool, being this close to a human...I've never _really_ seen one that I remember. I mean, sure I'd seen them in movies and television, but...not in person. Dad wouldn't allow it. And we all agreed; humans wouldn't understand what we were, labeling us as freaks, as monsters. They'd fear and hunt us, killing us before we had a chance to show them that we weren't monsters. Having one asleep on your_ couch_,looking peaceful and content...it was kinda nice. It helped settle my nerves slightly.

That is, until she started to stir. We all took a reflexive step back as her green eyes slipped open.

"Oh, _man_." She whispered sleepily. "What a dream. Turtles and...wolves, I think, fighting robots?" _Maybe if we backed away before she fully woke up..?_ "Did I fall asleep watching TV again?" I backed away and went to break the news to Splinter before the human saw me. Splinter came out of his room right as I got to the door.

"Why do I smell something...human in the lair?" He asked tersely. "The perfume had _better_ be from a dumpster, Asami Yoshida." I blanched, chuckled nervously, and scratched the back of my head, fumbling for an excuse.

"Sewers, actually...uh, you know...maybe you should...just come see? If you want to. If you do, just know we didn't really have a choice. We needed-" I stopped myself, but it was too late. I'd said too much. Splinter's eyes flashed.

"This better not mean what—what did you _do_?" I paled even further, if it were possible, under Splinter's stern admonishment. I chased after Splinter, stuttering to explain before Splinter halted, frozen. "There had _better_ be a good explanation for this!" He growled, as the human curled into herself, pulling the pillow over her head and chanting to herself that she was asleep, over and over, thankfully not noticing me and dad yet.

"_Man_, she's making _me_ sleepy." Mikey groaned, yawning.

"Tell me about it." Lupa yawned beside her brother. Dad and I came over and stood behind everyone, trying to remain concealed. Raph poked her shoulder.

"Hey, you." He barked.

"Raph..be gentle." I warned.

"What?" She asked, fear in her eyes and voice.

"Whatd'ya know about those MOUSER robot things?" He asked tersely, expecting an answer.

"Well, first I thought they were for cleaning up the city's rat problem." We all stiffened slightly. We'd seen that in action, and it nearly got our Sensei killed. And this woman had something to do with them? Just what kinda human did we grab here?! "But then I got suspicious when Dr. Stockman said-" She cut herself off, staring at us as if seeing us for the first time.

"What? What'd Doc Creepy say?" Lupa pressed. The woman gazed around, eyes glazed in fear.

"Oh, no. I'm talking to it." she squeaked, biting on her fingernail in her fear.

"We're 'them', lady, not 'it', if yeh please." Lupa replied, arms crossed.

"Wait..what're you talking to?" Leo asked the woman, bringing us back to the matter at hand.

"I'm talking to _it_—to _you_!" She whimpered. "Okay, April, you're talking to a giant, three-fingered turtle. The only logical explanation is that you're dreaming, so everything's fine." She went on. So her name is 'April', huh? It's a nice name, I suppose... "Okay..." She said, as if gearing up her courage. "Hello." She greeted, waving and grinning goofily at us.

"Sure she didn't hit her head?" Lupa asked. I smacked her upside the head.

"Shuttit! Leo's handling it." I reply.

"...Hello...April...how're you...doing?" He asked awkwardly, completely helpless as it what to do in this kinda situation.

"Oh, I'm fine!" She replied, voice squeaky with she thought was a happy, normal tone. In reality, is it just me, or does it sound just plain creepy? "Everything's absolutely _great_!" She went on, chuckling insanely. Lupa leaned over toward me.

"I think we broke her." I scowl at her.

"Lupa, she is a _human_, _not_ a _toy_!" she shrugs.

"Jes' sayin'..." I roll my eyes. Splinter stepped forward, and the turtles parted to let him through, revealing Lupa and I in the background. April gave a cry of shock, curling further into the pillow.

"Then, perhaps, you are ready to answer some questions." Dad suggested, in a tone we knew as the 'do as I say' tone. April might have took it as a mere suggestion, however. Her eyes snapped wide, and she went deathly pale. I took a step forward, waving in greeting.

"You're a...you're a..." She gave a small sigh, then promptly fainted. I rolled my eyes.

"He's not _that_ bad." Lupa growled defensively.

"She probably has a fear of rats." I suggested, hands up helplessly.

"Either way, you certainly have a way with the ladies, Master Splinter." Don muses wryly. I smacked his shoulder.

"Be nice." I growled.

"Now what do we do?" Don asks, shrugging helplessly.

"...Let's nudge her?" Leo suggested.

"That might work, but she'd probably just faint again." I reply, scratching my head.

"I'll snap her out of it." Raph growls as he moves as if to slap her.

"Raphael, _no_!" Dad snaps in panic as he grabs his son's arm.

"That would be the _worst_ way to wake her up!" I add.

"Yeah? It'd be the quickest."

"Patience _is_ a ninja trait, and a virtue, Raph." I deadpan. He merely scowls, but drops his arm. "So, we wait until she wakes up _normally_, got it?" I growl. Raph merely shoulders me out of his way and goes to...do whatever he does to pass the time. I try to back away, too, but a stick suddenly at the junction of my collarbones dissuades me of that idea.

"_Explain_." Dad snaps. I gulp, hands up in surrender. I suddenly find myself the only one in the vicinity.

"Traitors..." I growl under my breath. "Uh...well...Don finally got a MOUSER working and we followed it through the sewers, and then we found tons of MOUSERs, fought them off, heard a scream and intervened before April could get eaten." I babbled in a rush, eager to avoid—OW! Aannndd, there's the stick smack on the head. "Oowww..." I groaned as I rubbed my head ruefully.

"And you assumed bringing her into our _secret home_ was the _best_ course of action?" I swallowed again.

"Well, we knew we had to make sure she knew not to tell anyone, and...and I guess we were a bit too curious as to what a human is like. And besides, Sensei, she has no idea where she is right now. She was unconscious the whole way here. Our home's location is still a secret. She was about to get _eaten_ by the MOUSERs. We want to know _why_." He growls, but finds the explanation sufficient and stalks away. There was nothing to do now but pass the time, so I go and put a few eggs in a pan, listening to them sizzle as I put a few pieces of bread into a toaster. Soon enough, I sit in a chair near April, who is still without sign of waking anytime soon, eating as I watch a bit of TV.

=#=#=#=#=

I smell increased emotions before April's eyes twitch and slowly open. I turn off the TV.

"Ohhh..." She groans. Then takes the sight of me in. She gulps, but doesn't move to scream or faint, thank goodness. "Y-you...I'm still dreaming, aren't I?" She whimpers, holding the pillow to her chest again.

"No, I'm afraid, but if it helps, you can think you are." She nods.

"Okay. So...you aren't going to...I dunno...eat me or something?" I pull a face, taken aback.

"_No_! Why would you think that?"

"I don't know!" She squeaks, eyes focused only at the pointed teeth I'd accidentally bared at her. I gulp. Oops... She takes a deep breath. "I guess I just wa-watch too many late-night horror movies." I nod.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have overreacted."

"It-it's okay..." She replies. "So...where's the...rat-thing?" I hold in a growl at the disrespect April showed Dad, but remember she couldn't know who and what we are yet, so I let out a breath.

"His name is Splinter, and he's our...Sensei and father."

"I-I'm sorry...I didn't know." I let out another breath. I really need to work on my social skills, with humans in particular.

"I know. Again, I overreacted. Anyway, if you're ready, I can call dad in and we can begin." She nods. Leo, standing nearby all of a sudden, steps forward.

"While we're waiting, would you like something to drink? Water? Tea?" April blinks.

"I-I...guess? Tea sounds great right about now." Leo nods and leaves.

"Excuse me." I mumble, getting up to put my lunch dishes in the sink and find To-san. He's in the dojo, meditating. "Sensei? She's awake and Leo's getting her some tea. She's calm and ready to talk." He doesn't say a word as he gets up and retrieves his cane.

"I apologize for my actions earlier, Asami." I smile at him.

"I'd probably do the same, if not something similar, in your position, Dad. It's okay." He smiles back, relieved that our relationship was not damaged. I lead him out just as Leo enters with a pot of tea and enough cups for all of us. Mikey, Lupa, and the rest of the guys enter the TV area.

"Soo, are you...okay now?" Mikey asks, fearful of another scream. April smiles slightly sheepishly.

"Yes, thanks. I've decided that this is either a very long dream I keep _not_ waking up from, or it's the weirdest thing that ever happened to me." She replies. I nod.

"This is pretty weird for us, too. We haven't interacted with a human before." April cocks a brow at that, but decides not to comment.

"Young woman." Master Splinter calls, earning her attention. She flinches slightly, but gets over it almost instantaneously. "We have something most important to discuss with you."

"What?" She asked.

"We have never revealed ourselves to the upper world." Splinter begins.

"For obvious reasons." I add.

"Indeed. You have placed us all in great danger." Splinter admonished, glaring at all of us in turn, apparently still bitter about April's presence in the Lair. I gulp.

"But, Master Splinter..." Leo protests. "She was in trouble, and we helped her."

"Yeah," Raph agrees. "aren't you always teachin' us tah to try'n do the right thing?" Splinter looks conflicted as he gazes at us.

"As you grow older, you will learn that there are many ways to 'do the right thing'." Dad replies tersely.

"I believe we made the right call." Lupa whispers. I nod.

"Right call or not," Splinter interjects, his face softening and voice lowering, "there is no going back. I'm afraid we find ourselves...at your mercy." He all but whispers, sweeping a paw toward the guest in our home. April leans back in shock, eyes looking to each of us as if to ask 'what am I supposed to do?'.

"Oh, I would never tell anybody." April replies hurriedly, seeing the dejected, almost desperate look on Dad's face, picking up what Master Splinter was saying; we wouldn't do anything to her, even if she revealed our secret, so she was free to do with the knowledge of our existence as she wished. "I mean, wh-who would believe me?" April adds consolingly. I shrug.

"We don't know. Which is why we're so worried."

"But she's got a point." Don replies.

"Yeah, we're un-bel-ieveable!" Mikey boasts, striking several ridiculous poses. Raph scowls at him.

"Geez, where's yer off-switch?" He snaps. I frown as I think of just how right Sensei is. Our code of honor prohibits killing, but if she were to reveal our secret...it would devastate our family, and most likely result in our destruction.

"There are many conspiracy theorists and nutcases out there that would not rest until we were eradicated, if you want to take a pessimistic view." I muse sourly, wishing I didn't have this pessimism, but it is how I am. Everyone needs to know the darker end to this tale. Don rolls his eyes.

"Hardly likely, if you ask me." He replies haughtily, and I can't tell if he's just saying that because he doesn't want to worry April, who gulps thickly, or if he actually believes himself.

"_Seriously_, I _promise_." She says, as if pleading with us to believe her. And I find that I do. I can't smell any deceit on her, and my nose hasn't led me wrong before. Splinter gets up from his recliner and steps up to April, his face mere inches from hers as he stares deep into her eyes for a long minute or two.

"I believe you." He finally says. Leo is suddenly leaning over Sensei's shoulder, looking eagerly for whatever it was that Dad saw in April's eyes.

"Is this another lesson, Sensei?" Leo asks. "How to sense the truth?"

"No." Splinter replies, a touch of humor in his voice. "This is called, 'trusting your gut'." I chuckle.

"Besides, I can smell pheromones, and there's nothing in your scent to indicate a lie." April gapes at me, bewildered.

"What?"

"I'm a wolf." I explain. "Wolves can smell pheromones." April blinks at me.

"Okay. I think I read or heard that somewhere..." She replies, smiling slightly. "So...if I'm keeping your secret, what exactly _is_ it? Who _are_ you people—wolves—turtles—whatever?" She asked. I nod. Fair question. Dad is the first to speak up.

"I have memories, memories of a time when I used to be what you might call 'normal'." We all leaned in a little, eager to hear the story again. We'd only heard it on rare occasions previously, and as such was not tired of hearing it. "I remember, a day that started like any other, but ended changing the course of many lives. First, I dodged an odd young girl, eager to catch up to a young wolf pup, which thankfully didn't notice me. The pair ended up in the sewers. Something felt odd about the situation, so I peeked onto the street they had come from. There, I witnessed an accident. A young boy carried a glass jar with four pet infant turtles. An old blind man was crossing the street, when he was almost run down by a large truck." I frowned. Something about that truck...always unsettled me. Why was it careening down the road like that? Why did it have that ooze in the first place? "The turtles were lost to the sewers, washed away from their new owner as another young man intervened, saving the elder's life. As the truck swerved, a metal canister bounced out of the back, it smashed open, releasing an ooze, which covered their bodies. The girl from minutes before was there, as well, and we took pity on the small creatures, gathering them into a coffee can."

"I was the little girl, Lupa was the wolf, and you know how the turtles were." I add, seeing April's slightly confused expression. Dad nods.

"Not knowing what else to do, the girl carried the can and the wolf followed her lead as I took them to my burrow. The next morning, I awoke to find several things had changed. The young woman was now more lupine, the wolf was more human, and the pets had doubled in size! It changed me, also, making me larger, more intelligent. The turtles and wolf followed Asami and I everywhere, except above ground. We knew the people on the surface would not understand. We are so...different. Asami and I were amazed at their dexterity, but nothing quite prepared us for what came next." Dad said, pausing for a moment to let his words sink in and catch his breath slightly.

"It was about four months after the mutation, I think." I muse fondly, smiling at the memory, so vivid, even after all these years. "Splinter and I were wandering the sewers with you all, wondering where we were going to live, cus the burrow was obviously too small. Then...little Leo spoke."

"Yes," Dad took over, looking with pride at his eldest son. "They actually spoke...my name! And Asami's as well. She had taught me English, and I picked it up quickly, having heard it all my previous life. However, it was quite the shock. Soon, they were all speaking and walking and eating as young humans do."

"And _man_, could you five _eat_!" I add, laughing. "An entire pizza, in seconds, and you guys were only about five months old!"

"Intelligence followed soon after." Splinter continues, smiling fondly. "Realizing that, sometimes, the world above is a dangerous place, I began teaching them ninjitsu, the secret arts of stealth and power, and all that I knew of this world. Asami was a great aid, as well, assisting me and bolstering my knowledge with her own. She had been highly intelligent for her young age, and we gathered as many books as we could find from dumpsters and back alleys, challenging our knowledge and increasing it. From a battered book on the Italian Renaissance I had fished out of the storm drain shortly after the mutation, I chose names for each of them, Asami aside. Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, Michelangelo and Lupa. Together, they are-"

"Hamatos forever!" We all interject wildly, clapping our hands in a circle. I felt slightly foolish and childish, but it was fun all the same.

"Or something like that we all yell at once." Mikey adds cheekily.

"First rule; ignore Mikey. And Lupa. Yer life will be _much_ easier." I sigh.

"Oh, come on. You know you get unbearable sometimes, as well. We all do." I reply.

"And so we have remained in secret, and that is our story." Dad concludes, standing up. April frowned.

"But, why was Asami chasing Lupa into the sewers? And how did you know martial arts?" She asked. In sync, we all shrugged.

"We...don't know why I was chasing Lupa, really. Dad only saw me running after Lu-lu, who went into the sewers, and when we ask your second question, he always says..." I start.

"That is a story for another time." Dad finishes. Before April can ask anything else, or anyone say anything, Mikey pipes up, looking at the only screen currently active.

"Guys, look at this." He calls. The screen shows a bank, with thin tendrils of smoke pouring out of the doors.

"_Police are completely baffled by this daring bank robbery, boldly executed in broad daylight. If anyone has any information, police urge you to call the Crime Stoppers Hotline."_ Lupa scoffs. We all knew who-or rather, _what_-was behind that robbery, if those all too familiar tracks were anything to go by.

"Oh, yeah. Can you imagine? 'Hello? Yes, I happen to know that the bank was robbed by those MOUSER things Stocktronics just came out with. _No_, I'm _not_ crazy'." She mocks, fingers forming a telephone.

"Sooo...anyone wanna take a wild guess as who's behind this?" Mikey asked rhetorically.

"I can't imagine who." Lupa growls sarcastically. April takes a step forward.

"This must be what I heard Dr. Stockman talking about." She muses. I blink.

"You were that lab assistant." I realize aloud. "I thought you looked kinda familiar, but I couldn't remember exactly why...til now." I confess.

"You recognized her at first, too, sis?" Lupa asks cheerily. I nod.

"He's got the MOUSERs robbing banks!" April went on. Raph leans forward, eyes narrowing slightly in suspicion.

"Whad'ya know 'bout dis Stockman guy?" He asks, expecting an answer. April frowns.

"Oh, he's a genius." She states. Don nods in agreement. I roll my eyes. "He's also _nuts_."

"You're just now picking up on that?" Lupa snarks, sitting on the arm of the couch, knees up to either side of her chest in a somewhat lupine stance. April nods, arm crossing her chest and gripping the other one.

"I used to work for him, but when I got suspicious he turned the MOUSERs on me. Luckily, I ran into you guys." She went on. I smile.

"No problem. It's been great meeting you." I reply.

"He destroyed our old Lair." Leo notes, voice low in a growl.

"Must have been one of his MOUSER test runs." Aprils muses.

"But that was our _home_." Mikey complains.

"It wasn't much compared to _this_ place, but still." Lupa adds.

"And now he's graduated to banks." Don growls fiercely.

"Then what're we waitin' for?" Raph asks rhetorically. "I say we shut down MOUSER Central permanently." I slap my forehead.

"Raph, you know what Sensei said. It's too big a risk." Mikey chuckles to relieve the slight tension as April takes in the aggressive side she hadn't seen before.

"I just love those action movie lines." He notes happily. "You write those yerself?" April taps her chin in thought, frowning in concentration.

"It won't be easy. Stocktronics is rigged with the latest, up-to-the-minute security tech." She explains grimly. Mikey scoffs, standing right beside Don.

"Bring it on." He challenges. "Allow me to introduce our very own secret weapon; the tech-turtle himself, Donatello!"He chirps, as is hosting a TV talk show and Don was the guest. "Take a bow, Don." He adds, and I swear Don blushes even as he waves his brother off.

"Heh. Cut it out." He stammers, cheeks slightly red.

"Can...we...go..._please_?" Raph growls, literally shaking with the effort it took not to rush for the entrance. I see April stand resolutely and am shocked at the determination in her eyes and pheromones as she nods to Raph.

=#=#=#=#=

In the tunnels near Stocktronics, I turn to April.

"You're _sure_ you want to do this with us?" I ask for what feels like the fifth time. She scoffs good-naturedly, literally waving my question away.

"Bit too late to turn back now, isn't it?" I shrug. She's said something similar each time I'd asked her before.

"Touche." Lupa chuckles.

"I'm really liking this girl." I roll my eyes, but can't help a chuckle. April shakes her head in amusement, then hold her hand up for us to halt. We stop and she points to a alarm sensor halfway up the wall. slipping to the other side, April takes the cover carefully off. Don crouches beside her and I motion for everyone to give them a little space to do their techno-thing.

"Alarms in the sewers? Is this guy paranoid or what?" Mikey groans.

"Well...you never know what comes from these sewers nowadays." Lupa quips back, not missing a beat. Mikey grins.

"I hear that!" He replies, high-fiving his sister.

"Will you two shut it?" Raph growls.

"Jes' sayin'." Mikey replies.

"Can April and I have some quiet?" Don snaps. "This is delicate work." Mikey and Lupa roll their eyes.

"'April and I'." Mikey repeats mockingly, hands clasped in front of him.

"'This is delicate work'." Lupa adds.

"Give me a break." Mikey scoffs. I sigh.

"Can it, guys." Soon enough, however, we are in the ventilation system with the alarms the pair of geniuses had deactivated. Once two guards passed, Raph opened the hatch and peered out.

"Dis dah place?" He asked.

"No, Raph. We went to all this trouble for a supermarket." I snark back, face deadpanned.

"No need to yank yer tail outta socket, sis. Jes' double checkin'." He grumbles back. April nods.

"Not a bad idea. There's a computer terminal in that lab." She says, pointing to the door across the hall. "Get me in, and I can create blank spots in the security system to get you through to Dr. Stockman's main lab." Once again, there was not a trace of falsehood on the young woman. I nod and we all prepare to slip out and across the hall.

"Don't look now, but we already gotta 'blank spot' right 'ere." Raph quips, cocking a thumb at Mikey, who scowls at him sourly.

"Hey!" He whines. I roll my eyes and swing out with Raph, who (after making sure the coast was clear) helped April down from the vent. He then tries the lab's door handle. Locked, naturally. Raph pulls a sai automatically, then grins at April in a 'watch this' way. I face-palm, but in seconds the door opens and we're in. April is instantly in a chair, looking quite familiar with the computer as she hurriedly types away.

"Okay, I'm in." She informs us moments later. "I'm blanking the cameras along that corridor at ten second intervals, so you've got to keep moving." She goes on, typing even as we fade into the shadows.

"We'll be right back." Leo says from the doorway and we sprint down the hall. Soon enough, the hall ends at the main lab and we catch our breath for a second before entering. First impression; horror movie set creepy. Second impression; dark, large and definitely not somewhere I'd normally _want_ to enter. But enter we did, weapons in hand and hearts hammering. "This is _too_ quiet." Leo whispered tensely.

"Uh, guys...my turtle-sense is tingling..." Mikey whimpered. I gulped. This was the part of the horror game where the people stupid enough to investigate the unknown dark room got shu-EEK! The doors slammed shut suddenly behind us. Lupa and I screamed, but Lupa was the only one to jump into her brother's arms; Mikey's to be specific. He stumbled back a step as she landed, and she then took stock of where she was, jumped back out of her brother's arms, and cleared her throat.

"No one saw that." She growled, cheeks red. Mikey just stood there like 'what the cuss just happened?', arms still in the position to hold Lupa. I laughed, but stopped as the PA system crackled to life. I grimace at the white noise, but it was over instantaneously.

_"Intruders? Here to steal **my** secrets?" _The voice was clearly male, maybe in his 40s, maybe 35 or so. It was hard to tell. Wait...is that...Dr. Stockman?!

"Wait...what?" I asked, the words sinking in. "Why would-nevermind." I said with a roll of my eyes. If this guy wanted to pick a fight, fine. We'd give him one.

_"You'll leave here with **nothing**!" _Stockman barked. _"Not even your lives._" He promised. I suddenly felt not a trace of my former fear. There were a _lot_ of unknowns here, but _that_ was not one of them.

"Over my dead body, creep." I swore, hands white-knuckled on my handles.

_"What on earth **are** you?" _He asks curiously, voice devoid of the menace it once held. _"Well, I suppose I'll just have to dissect you to find out." _I gulp, but am already dodging the lasers suddenly firing at us from some kind of MOUSER construction equipment. Hidden behind a pillar, I chew my lip as I think of what to do. The decision is made for me, and all of us, as we have to haul _shell_ to avoid lasers fired from the equipment used to make those evil MOUSERs. We crouch behind different pillars, and I get an irrational urge to somehow get everyone together, where I could reach out and touch them, move them away from danger if necessary. But I know it's irrational, so I swallow and bite the impulse back into the farthest corners of my mind. Now was not the time for these maternal instincts and foolish over-protectiveness. I shake my head subtly and grimace as Raph runs by me, and Leo and I leap out, sending a laser meant for Raph's retreating carapace back to it's sender.

"Raph, heads up!" Leo calls, even as we slip out of the shadows to protect him. Don then gets an 'I have an idea' look and uses his staff to catapult himself up to a laser-firing-thing (shell, what are their names?!), using his momentum to swing it around, resulting in another thing destroyed. Don then pulls a fistful of wires of the thing he's clinging to, flipping off before it explodes. I just shrug.

"Show offs." I muse, throwing shuriken into another one. We race toward the control room-or, we assume it's the control room-but more lasers greet us, forcing us to hide again. Raph and I keep going, narrowly avoiding more lasers, until our backs (or shell for Raph) are against the wall that makes up a side of the control room.

"Hey, Mike! Slingshot!" Raph calls. Mikey obliges, and it sent flying up to the window of our destination, using his nunchuck to smash the window open. Lupa grins.

"Good idea, bro!" I deadpan when she then meets my eyes.

"Don't even think about it." She rushes toward me anyway. I calmly step aside. She lands lightly on her feet, pouting at me.

"Aw, come on!" Beside me, Don snickers as he shuko-spikes the wall and begins his climb.

"I warned you." I reply, leaping up and using my claws to make climbing easy. Raph snorts.

"It's what I woulda done, sis." He muses.

"So?" Lu-lu grumbles as she climbs up after us.

"You like it?" I hear Leo ask, smirking at Mikey. I cock a brow, but drop it and draw my weapons.

"What _are_ you?" Stockman asks again.

"Like we'd tell you." I growl, not noticing the door behind me opening.

"They're with me." April seethes, coming suddenly into the room, posture strong, confident, and not at all scared of the man that tried to kill her earlier.

"April?!" Stockman asks incredulously. "You're alive?!"

"And kicking." April snaps waspishly, stalking toward him.

"Not thanks to you." I growl.

"I've got enough evidence to put you away for years, Dr. Stockman." She goes on. I pale slightly. _That's_ never_ a good thing to do. You do not _ever_ broadcast the fact that you have something against someone like Stockman. It never ends well. _Sure enough, I see Stockman press a button on the control board in front of him. Raph spots it, too, and drags him away.

"Dat's enough!" He growls. Stockman recovers and smirks menacingly at Raph.

"Ha!" He sneers. "Too late! I've recalled the MOUSERs from their latest mission." He leans a little toward Raph's face defiantly. "They'll be here any second. They'll tear you to pieces." I refrain from swallowing. We turn to our friend. She gulps.

"April?" Don asks.

"I'll have to shut the whole system down!" She squeaks, even as she sits down and begins the process.

"I'll help!" Don adds, sitting beside her.

"You're doomed!" Strockman barks.

"Shut up!" I snap back.

"Listen." Stockman replies. I do, only to hear the sound of a returning army of MOURSERs. Even as I turn to ask April and Don to speed things up, the doors open and the metal demons clang their way over. We watch them creep up the ladder, annoyingly slow.

"April...now's the time." Leo whimpers. April groans.

"The system isn't responding!" April replies exasperatedly. The pair then frown and try something else. I take a step back, positioning my siblings behind me, heedless of the grunts of protests they give off.

"You never should have matched wits with me." Stockman muses devilishly, safe in the elevator April rode down here.

"He's getting away!" Mikey calls, running forward even as the doors slide closed.

"Not for long he isn't!" Lupa growls, but I grab her arm.

"Let him go." Raph barks, backing up, facing the MOUSERs still stalking toward us. "We got bigger problems." I gulp, readying my weapons. "At least we'll go out fighting." Raph muses. I roll my eyes.

"Only you would say that."

"Yeah." Mikey agrees. "I'd rather not go out at all." I sigh.

"At least we're all together." Lupa nods, her eyes full of fear.

"It's not working!" April cries, voice higher in her panic.

"Keep trying!" Don replies.

"This is it." Raph notes grimly.

"No point denying it." I add, taking a breath to calm myself.

"It's been fun." Raph goes on. I smile.

"Oh, yeah." _Just wish Sensei won't have to wake up to an empty Lair_, I add inwardly, deciding against voicing that thought.

"Even me, Raph?" Mikey asks. "Well, me and Lupa?" Raph sighs.

"Even you, Mikey." Raph replies. "Especially you." Mikey and Raph smile.

"Yeah, even though you could be a bit much at times." I add.

"Hey! We resemble that remark!" Lupa protests, sticking her tongue at me.

"Of course you do." I reply wryly. However, just before the robots close in for the kill...they just...stop. We congratulate our luck, giddy with relief taht we weren't dead.

"Good job, April!" Don praises. "I've never seen anything like that."

"Loosserr~!" Mikey taunts the still robots.

"Uh...guys?" April squeaks.

"That was _far _too close for comfort." Lupa whimpers, letting out a shaky breath as she sheaths her double scythe.

"_Guys_, I wasn't able to shut them down!" April explains, eyes wide with fear.

"They look pretty shut down to me." Mikey replies, smiling. I note that the lights on the tops of the MOUSERs are suddenly red. April pales even further.

"The only way I could stop them was to initiate an overload sequence." She adds. I gulp. Oh, crap! No one needs any more explanation.

"In other words..." Mikey starts.

"Let's get outta here!" Lupa finishes, already practically gone. We follow her lead in an instant, Don grabbing April bridal style and leaping off the control room window we'd entered through.

"Don't stop, don't stop!" I yell as we sprint out of the facility just in time. The ground shakes beneath us as we race along the sewers toward home. That had been _too _close...

We'd nearly been chomped to pieces by MOUSERs _then_ blown sky-high when those same MOUSERs exploded. Geez, how are we going to explain this to To-San?

=#=#=#=#=

Turns out, he was actually fairly okay with us sneaking out, more relieved we'd made it home safely then angry we'd gone against his wishes, though it was clear we'd disappointed him by our disobedience as he listened to our report.

_"And authorities are completely perplexed by the destruction of the Stocktronics building and the sudden disappearance of Dr. Baxter Stockman."_ Came the news report as we finished the story. Splinter listens and watches before turning to April.

"What will you do now, Mrs. O'Neil?" He asks. "You are most definitely out of a job." He muses, a touch of wry humor to his voice.

"I'm...not exactly sure." April replies, looking highly uncertain. Don and I come over.

"We'll help you get back on your feet." Don offers.

"Seeing as we're the reason you're now unemployed in the first place." I add.

"You guys." April breaths, genuinely touched. "You've all been...well, great." She then smirks. "And by guys, I guess I mean four big, talking turtles, two massive female wolves, and a giant talking rat." She muses. I smile.

"You know it." Lupa replies sarcastically.

"Here's to the new team!" Leo chirps excitedly. I roll my eyes, but clink the cup I'm holding with the others' and we all give a hearty cheer. April laughs, sipping the tea as we settle down again.

* * *

"So...is there a phone number I could call if I need you guys, or what?" April asks after a while. I deliberate only a moment. I have come to trust April after she agreed to storm Stocktronics with us, though we'd only met, because she knew she could help us. She could have turned us in, but she saw that we weren't monsters, that we were sentient, and willing to do the right thing, no matter what. I bring out my shell-cell and hand it to her so she could copy our numbers into her contacts. She flinches away when our hands brush each other. "Wow..." She breaths. "Your fur..." I flush, taking a reflexive step back. "I'd never really thought about it before..."

"Sorry. I, uh..." I fumble for something to say.

"No, no!" She's quick to protest. "It's actually...really nice. Kinda like normal hair..." I cock a brow.

"Have you never pet a dog before?" I mumble awkwardly. She smiles just as awkwardly.

"Of course I have. It's just...your fur feels a little bit different. That's all." I nod, still feeling highly uncomfortable.

"Sorry. I haven't had much experience being...petted." I blush, but hold my arm out, rolling my catsuit up to reveal my upper arm. Or, most of it. She'll want to feel it again, but she won't want to ask, so...may as well... "Here. May as well get it over with, right?" She hesitated only for a second, then her hand slides up and down my arm a few times before she slides it away.

"Sorry. I just...it's so soft. I really am sorry." I smile, chuckling with a shrug as I slide the catsuit back down my arm, smoothing down the ruffled fur as I did..

"Anyway...uh...I should probably get dinner going." I scratch the back of my head.

"Wanna help? I am usually by myself, although Mikey likes to help every now and again." April nods and we prepare canned soup, as it's the thing we (somewhat shockingly) have the least trouble finding. Adding salt and pepper is done while Aprils gathers the guys.

It feels different, having a human seated at our table, eating and chatting with us, but it also feels..._right_. Like this is how it _should_ be, not just how we'd always _wanted_ it to be.

**I REALLY NEED TO WORK ON MY ENDINGS. THEY'RE ALWAYS SO CORNY. ANYWAY, THIS LAST LITTLE SCENE WAS KINDA RANDOM, BUT I WANTED TO DO IT EVER SINCE I READ THIS STORY WHERE APRIL IS REALLY HESITANT TO ASK USAGI IF SHE COULD PET HIM, AND THEN THE GUYS EXPLAINED THAT SHE HAD GONE THROUGH THE SAME PHASE WITH SPLINTER, AND...I THOUGHT 'WHY NOT ASAMI, AS WELL?' SO THAT'S WHY THAT CAME TO BE.**


End file.
